Sinnerman
by The Archer Black
Summary: Another take on Shockwave's pre-Empurata, pre-Shadowplay past.


**Sinnerman.**

" _Oh sinnerman, where you gonna run to?_

 _Sinnerman, where you gonna run to? (…)_ _"_ – Nina Simone _"Sinnerman"._

 **Warnings** : Politicians – that should explain everything.

Timing: Before the war, in my very own Beauty of the Beast Prime timeline.

Rating: T/M

Disclaimer: Transformers Prime © Hasbro. Story's plot and OC's © me. There may be some OC's that aren't mine – they belong to their respective creators.

oOo

 _Iacon, Cybertron. Before the war._

Senator Shockwave was having a blast; he was spending his time in a VIP room in one of the fancier clubs in Greater Iacon. The stroboscope lights were flashing, the music blasted at full volume, the high grade was plentiful and he and his guests were surrounded by a bevy of beautiful femmes.

This wasn't typical for Shockwave to party with such intensity. He was frequent guest of various clubs but this kind of parties was reserved for special occasions and special occasion it was. Earlier that day the Senate was celebrating the end of the First Civil War – not the most important holiday on Cybertron since the end of the war didn't led to anything exceptionally good, but the war itself was devastating enough for the planet, so its end was celebrated officially. That in turn was a perfect excuse to have a massive booze-up afterwards.

After the official celebrations were over the Senators parted their ways without much ado and various groups left to have their own, private after parties, either in clubs or private residences.

Shockwave took a swing from his cube and grinned to Senator Momus of Helex1) who was one of his guests.

"Tomorrow we will be very sorry." He said happily and gestured at two femmes to approach him. "So we better do our best to make it worth to suffer tomorrow."

"Speak for yourself; I certainly won't be sorry tomorrow." The other mech replied. "This isn't even close to what I call strong liquor." He lifted his cube and emptied it one gulp. "I recall our head engineer distilling high grade that you could use as a polymer dissolving solution."

"Would hoping that you still have some of it be too much?" Shockwave asked.

"It would."

"What happened with the guy?" The Tarnian asked and encircled the two femmes with his arms, pulling them closer.

"He now has his own refinery, the guy was a true miracle maker when it came to this sort of things, he now produces his own brand of high grade but it's nothing compared to what he used to make." Momus shrugged.

"Well, at least he makes a living." Shockwave grinned. "To your former friend." He lifted his cube. "And our present companions."

The femmes laughed and lifted their own cubes.

oOo

 _The next day._

This was atypically quiet day in Cybertronian senate. There were no shouts, accusations, no witty banter and almost everyone seemed to be nursing hangovers from the Pit. There was but one exception that was sober and as fresh as a spring morning. His name was Dai Atlas.

Dai Atlas looked up from his notes and shook his helm when he saw Senator Ratbat walking past him, looking like his own ghost. He would never understand why these people would do that to themselves. He was no saint but he knew his limits and knew better than to get himself in such pitiful state.

There was a silent groan behind him and Dai Atlas looked back at the suffering mech. Senator Sherma2) patiently waited for some menders to dissolve in a cube of low grade. The process was rather slow and produces silent popping-hissing sound.

"Why does it have to dissolve so loudly?" Sherma whined and covered the cube with his servo, muting the sound slightly.

"To punish us for our immoderation." Came the silent reply as Shockwave sat down next to Dai Atlas. He was sporting paint vastly different than the previous day. "Besides, artificial menders dissolve quieter than natural ones; you should try them the next time."

"There will be no next time." Sherma rested his forehead against the top of his board. He was partying with Shockwave and Momus the previous evening and now he wished he didn't.

"Sure thing." Shockwave risked a slight smirk. "We always say this, and then we do it anyway."

"Don't encourage him." Dai Atlas scolded his friend but there was no venom or anger in his voice.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I lead the young and innocent Sparks to perdition." Shockwave's grin widened slightly. "Sherma, listen and remember, I say this now and I will continue saying this for as long as I will process code; there are three types of Senators in this House: those who have call girls on speed dial." He waved his servo in general direction of Proteus and his posy. "Those who pick hussies in night clubs." He pointed at himself. "And Dai Atlas." He gestured at his friend.

Dai Atlas huffed in reply but smiled. Shockwave had his flaws but he had brilliant sense of humour and was a great friend.

"Would you mind returning to your designed seats?" They all lifted their optics to see Proteus. The mech didn't look much better than the rest of Senators, but he seemed to be determined to give professional impression. "I am trying to open a session here."

"Don't be ridiculous, Proteus, half the Senate is missing." Shockwave sighed. "Even Ratbat ran off looking as if he was to be violently ill any moment now. I hope he managed to reach the lavatory in time."

"The senators absent today will be fully excused." Proteus declared. "We do not need to have full attendance to open a session as long as the presidium is being represented." He informed.

"Oh, hey Proteus, in that case, here's an idea." Sherma rested his chin in his hand and gave the mech an apathetic look. "What say you stop showing up altogether? We'll just replace you with a giant time-clock. And if we ever get to missing you, we'll just have a tiny Proteus figurine pop out every couple of minutes and say 'I've never satisfied a femme. I've never satisfied a femme. I've never satisfied a femme.'"3)

That comment made Shockwave snigger and Dai Atlas grin. There were silent laughs from those who heard the entire exchange but the audience was rather inadequate. Proteus only reply was to frown and growl silently as he walked off.

oOo

 _Iacon, Cybertron. Not long before the war._

The news of Sherma's violent and untimely death reached the headlines with the speed of light. He was a Senator and he was found dead in public place. The entire Cybertron knew before Dai Atlas and Shockwave did. And immediately after news of his death Momus was assassinated. Shockwave immediately knew that Proteus gained a lot of personal satisfaction from their deaths, on top of his political calculations. Times were starting to become more and more interesting.

The End.

This one is set during Blast from the Past's "Shadowplay" – I just wanted to write something with pre-Empurata and pre-Shadowplay Shockwave again.

1) Yes, the same Momus that was closet Decepticon.

2) Yes, the very same Sherma that was murdered and hung from a bridge that was later named after him.

3) Its almost exact quote from Scrubs, season 2, episode 22 "My Dream Job" I just changed it a little tiny bit to fit into this scene.


End file.
